Parks commission recommends accessible parking, removes pedestrian connections for Taco Street/Chaco’s Park design

The Carbondale Parks and Recreation Commission on Aug. 13 debated alternatives for parking and pedestrian access at the Taco Street/Chaco’s Park project and gave staff two formal directions: remove the two mid-block pedestrian connections running east–west across Taco Street and move forward with the design that provides four accessible parking spaces, including two van-accessible stalls.

Commissioners said their concerns centered on pedestrian safety near a proposed water-play element and the need to preserve accessible parking downtown. After prolonged discussion about parallel versus perpendicular layouts, van-accessible stalls and how the site should behave during town events, the commission voted to remove the two pedestrian connections and to recommend the alternate that provides four accessible stalls (two van-accessible) with bollard-controlled closures for event use.

Why it matters: The Taco Street redesign sits at the heart of downtown Carbondale and will function both as a daily-use park and as an intermittent event street. How parking and pedestrian access are configured affects accessibility for people with limited mobility, crowd control during events and the safety of children near the splash pad.

What the commission discussed and decided - Two design alternatives had been circulated: Alternate A (fewer spaces, planters and additional planting buffer) and Alternate B (more parking capacity). Commissioners discussed variants that would provide two van-accessible spaces or four accessible spaces, and whether spaces should be parallel or perpendicular. - Safety concerns dominated the discussion. Commissioner Ashley Haitemanek said she was ‘‘worried about how close it is to the water’’ and about children potentially running into parked cars; other members emphasized the need for a visible buffer between the water-play element and any parking. - The commission voted to remove the pair of pedestrian connections that ran east–west from the park across Taco Street toward Fourth Street; commissioners and staff noted the street will still have standard crosswalks at Fourth Street and that the design uses removable bollards to create a flexible event street. - The commission then recommended the alternate that includes four accessible parking stalls (two of which are to be van-accessible). Commissioners and staff discussed the logistics of van-accessible stalls — the required buffer/striping and whether stalls could be shared. - Commissioners asked staff to test the proposal against engineering geometry, snow-removal logistics, ADA layout standards and the timing of event closures.

Votes and procedure - The commission took two formal actions at the meeting: a motion to remove the two mid-block pedestrian connections (approved) and a recommendation to the trustees for Alternate B with four accessible spaces, including two van-accessible (approved). The transcript records discussion of opposition and abstentions during the parking recommendation debate; commissioners asked staff to produce engineered drawings that will be needed to finalize striping, curb cuts and exact stall dimensions.

Context and next steps - Trustees will receive the commission’s recommendation and the design team will produce engineered plans to resolve geometric and snow-removal questions. Staff noted that several nearby accessible parking spaces exist in the downtown area and that private lots are used for overflow parking; those lots are privately owned and therefore not guaranteed long term.

Ending: Staff will bring full engineering drawings and the commission’s recommendation to the trustees; the commission also requested the design team revisit the pedestrian connection and buffer details shown in the schematic.